Corient Private Wealth LLC Sells 3,026 Shares of Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK)

Corient Private Wealth LLC lessened its stake in Westlake Co. (NYSE:WLK - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,561 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 3,026 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Westlake were worth $1,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Westlake by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 141,201 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $16,019,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Westlake by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Westlake by 525.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 278,329 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $30,766,000 after buying an additional 233,838 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Westlake in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $13,411,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Westlake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,204 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.40% of the company's stock.

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Westlake Stock Down 3.7 %

WLK stock traded down $3.83 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $99.09. 856,305 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 543,121. The company has a current ratio of 2.79, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $110.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.18. Westlake Co. has a 12-month low of $98.51 and a 12-month high of $162.64.

Westlake (NYSE:WLK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.98). Westlake had a net margin of 0.81% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $2.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. Westlake's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Westlake Co. will post 6.48 EPS for the current year.

Westlake Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. Westlake's payout ratio is 45.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WLK. Bank of America reduced their target price on Westlake from $134.00 to $116.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Westlake from $175.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Westlake from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Westlake from $130.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Westlake from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $138.21.

Westlake Company Profile

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products.